What We're All About

I'm cheating a little bit today.  This might be familiar if you've been reading since we started, or if you browse the oldest posts here.  I was feeling the need to re-post some of the first real post we had here.  To repeat and reintroduce the ideas of what M28 is all about.

It's about living the Great Commission.  In our everyday lives.


The Commission

There is a physicality and movement to the command “go.”  There is nothing sedentary about it.  The command is simple.  Matthew 28:18-20  (NASB)

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Go.  Make.  Baptize.  Teach.

Verbs.  Actions.  Jesus’ last words to his disciples, his students, were a call to action.  Some were still struggling with belief of what had happened after his death.  Yet he tells them to go out.  They have believed, in faith.  Now they were to teach, in faith.

I’ve heard it said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.

Jesus’ students are told to go into the rest of the world and told to; wash, rinse, repeat.

Step 1:

Go, move, leave where you are to be somewhere else.  Next door, or around the world.

Step 2:

Make students.  People who will grasp things that are separate.  Like Sin and Grace.

Step 3:

Baptize them in the name of God:  The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Step 4:

Teach them to obey, follow, adhere to, the commands Jesus gave.  Including, Go.

Step 5:

Repeat.  Because 11 people didn’t make disciples of all nations on the first go.

This isn’t meant to be a formula or code to follow.  I’m just breaking down the verbs of the Commission. 

Discipleship

Discipleship is not a 3 week class held on Sunday mornings for 30 to 45 minutes.  It’s not a book with a clever plan on “how to.”  As a disciple of Jesus we never stop learning or growing.  There is no graduation or achievement levels.  There is no standardized testing, with multiple choice and No. 2 pencils.

Discipleship is a way of living.  It is continual learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus, and others whether they share the same faith or not.

There are many books and teachings about how to disciple.  I won’t really recommend one over another partially because I haven’t read enough of them to offer opinions on the methods.

What I will tell you is this, discipleship is both simple and complex.  The way to do discipleship can be very simple and uncomplicated.  But there will be complex conversations and questions.  And the very nature of what is being taught is complicated.

Jesus was our example of how to teach disciples.  He pulled it off with out a single youtube video, powerpoint presentation, sporting arena, or even a megaphone.  He taught from his heart what he knew the Father wanted us to know.  It’s all laid out for us in scripture.

Making a disciple requires very few physical things.  A teacher, a student and a Bible.  It can be that simple.  There also needs to be a desire to learn and grow in both parties, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  It’s the Spirit that makes the growth happen.  It’s the Spirit that opens up the complexities and mysteries of the Word to the hearts of both teacher and student.

Teach the Word.  Not traditions.  As one teaching, you must be as deep or deeper in the Word than the one being taught.  Dive in.  Breathe deep the fragrance of life that springs from it’s pages.  Teach others to be like Jesus by living the way Jesus lived.

You must first be a disciple if you want to make a disciple.

To be a disciple of Jesus is to take hold of the grace and promises of God and join them to what is separate from them, our sinful nature, our hearts, minds and souls.  This is only possible because of what Jesus accomplished for us through his death and resurrection.

Jesus didn’t wait for humanity to come to Heaven.  He left everything he was took on the pain and suffering of being human so he could be with us.  He wanted to be with us so he could teach us how to live, and love, and serve the Father.

He came to us.

And so those who follow him, must also go, make, baptize, teach…repeat.


grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

For the Trees (a poem)

Here is something a little different today.  A poem I wrote a while back.  Enjoy!

"For the Trees"

looking to the East I see a tree
it stands alone, magnificent
I stare and wonder at it's glory
I begin to journey toward it
focused and sure of my way

all along the path
I marvel to God at the splendor
and beauty of this tree
long weeks pass ere I reach the shade
beneath it's expansive branches

"God!" I cry, "Let me be a part of this!
Let me stay here and care for this tree.
Surely you pointed me to this place."

God sighs and points, "Look, there."
I follow his finger as it points back to the tree.
I examine the texture of it's bark, the complexity of it's leaves

"That is what I'm looking at!
God, this gift, it is beyond my understanding.
Let me stay here and learn."

Again God sighs.
He looks at me, as only a father can,
when their children doesn't understand.
He takes me by the shoulder,
guides me just past the tree and says,
"No.  Look at that."

I follow his outstretched arm
and see
just beyond the tree

before me, a massive sprawl of mountains
and leagues of forests full of beautiful trees
my mind struggles to comprehend all that I see
the hues and shapes of his design

how did I miss all this!?

how did I journey for so long
and not see this vast ocean before me

I look up to my Father
He smiles
"Go," he whispers softly
and he gently pushes me toward my future

(January 6th, 2011)

Breaking the Habit

So, you're addicted to going to church too?

Let me tell you, there is hope, and you are not alone.

God gets angry with empty ritual and meaningless tradition.  Read Isaiah.  Read the stories of Jesus confronting the Pharisees.  They had replaced their faith in God with regulations.  The Ten Commandments were never about keeping the "rules"...they were about putting God first!  That is the first commandment!

"You shall have no other gods before me."

(PS - I'm not advocating not following the 10 Commandments...just change the perspective of why we follow them.)

It is so easy to replace knowing God with knowing about God.  And that is a danger of just "going to church." A person can go to church their whole life and never know God.  They can know plenty about him.  They could even quote scripture like nobody's business.  The Pharisees were pretty good at that stuff too.  Then you get someone like the centurion with the sick servant.  This guy is a Roman soldier.  But he sees and recognizes the authority in Jesus.  Did Jesus turn him away because he was not a devout follower of the law?  No.  Look at what Jesus said, (it is really mind blowing if you think about it.)

I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.

You know the craziest part about this?  The guy didn't even come himself.  He sent people to Jesus.  And when Jesus was coming to heal the guys sick servant...more friends come and tell Jesus that the centurion didn't feel worthy enough to have Jesus come under his roof.

Man that is hitting home to me right now.  Really hard.

How often have I walked into "church" thinking I belong.  That this was my place.  That is the attitude of an addict.  I have the right to be here.  Who are you to tell me different?

Church is not a place to go.  It is people to be with.  It is the body, the whole body, of Jesus.

The body won't grow if it sits around.  Well, it might get fat, but it won't grow.  It won't become healthy and strong.  The Church isn't supposed to be sedentary.  Jesus told his disciples to, "Go."  But they didn't.  Not at first.  Then difficulty struck, and they scattered...and so did the Word.

My friends, it is high time we get out of our pews, couches, folding chairs, or whatever you sit on in your regular gatherings.  A farmer can't harvest a crop if he just sits in his barn and doesn't plant the seeds.  Neither can we prepare the harvest for Jesus if we just sit in our storehouses. 

Break the habit.  Church is good.  Christ is better.  Show Jesus to the world around you.  Don't hide your love for him behind the stained glass windows of a church or the fish bumper sticker on your car.  Let's stop just going to church and let us be the Church.

See you out there.

grace, peace + hope

-Jesse

Size Matters Not

In my favorite movie of the Star Wars Saga, The Empire Strikes Back, the hero Luke is on a swamp planet training to be a Jedi Knight.  It is here that he meets the great Jedi master, Yoda.  Yoda is this little green creature with big pointy ears.  Not what Luke (or the original audience was expecting.)

During a bit of training Yoda is teaching Luke to use the Force to lift his crashed ship out of the swap.  After struggling Luke gives up and says, "I can't. It's too big."  Then Yoda says this,

Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not.

Yoda, who was hardly as tall as Luke's knee proceeds to lift the ship out of the swamp on to dry(er) land.  Luke, astonished say, "I don't believe it."  Yoda replies, sadly, "That is why you fail."

Ok, keep that in mind cause I'm gonna diverge a bit here.  I recently saw a magazine for church leaders with a cover article along the lines of "Is Small Church the Next Big Thing?"  Now I wasn't able to read the article to see what they were saying.  So I'm passing no opinion of the actual material.  But one thing is very clear to me.

Size Matters Not.

Yoda was able to lift something much larger than himself because he believed.  Luke, by all appearances was more capable.  Looks are deceiving.

What I'm getting at is not that small churches are better than big churches.  What really matters is the hearts of the people gathering.  Small churches may be more like what happened in Acts.  I personally don't like attending mega-churches.  I've had a hard time keeping my attitude toward them in check.  But God kinda smacked me in the back of the head recently (like a loving father) and I realize that the size of the church is wholly, utterly, completely irrelevant.

A small group of 20 that meets on Sunday just to listen to a person lead a discussion or message, sing songs with out a worship team, and go through their week not living out what they discussed is no different than a mega-church that has 4,000 people, two worship teams, and a parking lot to embarrass a football stadium where the people don't live out during the week.

The revolution that followers of Jesus need to see is not about the size of the church they are in.  It is how we live our life between the services and sermons.

We can't wait for our pastors or whatever title you like to tell us to go to our neighbor with a 3 step plan of conversion.  There doesn't have to be a massive event to bring Jesus into the life of your co-workers.  Invite them into your home, into your life.  Make the time.  Skip a church event or 2 and go get to know these people.  Listen to them.  And don't jump right into your church no matter how wonderful it is.

Show them Jesus in YOUR life.

Size matters not.  The size of the congregation doesn't matter to Jesus.  He left us a few specific instructions.  Go into all the world, baptizing, and making disciples of all people.

So let's go.  You and me.  Out into the world.  Away from the pews and couches and live life along side others. 

Jesus is out there, lets go take him a drink of water.

grace, peace + hope
-Bear

Uninvited

Have you ever planned a party or event just to have no one you invited show up?

Yes?  Good then I'm not alone in that department.  If your answer is 'no,' well, keep reading anyway.

Jesus gave his disciples a parable that featured this concept.  It was an allegorical story painting a picture of the kingdom of heaven.  I want to point out that the phrase kingdom of heaven is lowercase here, so it's not a physical place we can go to.  It's more like a state of being.  A way of life.

In Matthew 22 Jesus tells this great story about a king throwing a wedding banquet for his son.  He sends out invitations and prepares the event.  When the time came he sent his servants to gather those who had been invited.  They refused to come.

So the king sent more servants.  They were to let the invitees know that all was prepared, the food was ready and all that was needed was their arrival.  The still refused to come and mistreated and killed the servants.  (They really didn't want to go!)

Then the king says to his other servants, "Those who were invited did not deserve to come, go out into the streets and invite anyone you find there."  So they went and brought anyone they found to the wedding banquet, good and bad, and filled the banquet hall.

Now the story goes on (follow the link above to read all of it) but I will stop there for now.

I know this parable is not directly tied to discipleship but it has a principle we can apply to that concept.  When we want to disciple, we might want to reach out to those we know, those we would invite to a party.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  We should reach out to those we know.  But they refuse to come, time after time, stop spending time trying to get them to come and move on.

Invite those you don't know.  Reach out.  Be bold.  I know that it's easy to say that sitting behind a computer screen, but it's not impossible.  To go with Jesus' parable, if you're the servant getting sent to invite someone to the banquet, you know it's going to be a good time right?  Of course.  So why not tell others about it?

The challenge is determining how to invite those you don't know.  How to approach them and share with them what you know to be good.  There are many ways to do so.  Check out M28's website for more info and ways to do this.

And for those who refuse the invitation, remember this, we are not the king.  We don't have the final say.  So don't give up on them in your behavior.  Keep praying for them.  Keep showing them love and kindness.  But you don't have to keep 'barking up the same tree,' for lack of a better expression.

Reach out to the uninvited.  You may be surprised what doors God opens up in their life, and your own.

Grace, peace and hope
-Jersey

COME IN…GO OUT…FIND PASTURE…GO! Part II

John 10:1-10 (NLT)………….They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

GO OUT…the sheep were never expected to stay in the sheep pen for ever. Food would become scarce pretty quickly because this was only designed to provide safety and rest for a time. Tempers could get out of control because of the limited space to move about or work. Chaos could even be a threat to the peace and safety of the pen.
Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
The reason the laborers are few is the sheep pen has become too comfortable for the sheep. Routine and complacency replaces vision and energy. Rejuvenation comes to fulfillment. There is a sense of completion, purpose and fulfillment OUTSIDE the sheep pen…in the harvest field (the world).

FIND PASTURE…The sheep don't leave the sheep pen on their own. The shepherd walks AHEAD of them and they FOLLOW by listening to his voice. As we go into the harvest (the world) we are fed and energized to continue doing the work God has called us…no, has MANDATED us to do. Together, we work the fields alongside the Owner of the field. Paul tells us “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. (1 Cor 3:7-9) We don’t have to wander aimlessly, confused, hopeless. People are waiting, ready to receive…but we MUST get out of the sheep pen.
“For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Romans 10:13-15)
I find it interesting that immediately following COME IN, GO OUT and FIND PASTURE is the warning, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

…The thief will ALWAYS try to steal the results of the COME IN. Steal the release, the freedom from our past bondages, misconceptions, control, pride, indentifying our worth with our works. Confusion of God’s yoke (teachings) to be hard, unattainable rather than easy, times of doing at times instead of times of just being.

…The thief will try to kill the joy of “going out.” He will put fear into our hearts. Fear can kill. Fear can be masked as inexperience, I-don’t-know-the-bible like so-and-so, arrogance or condescension “they will never receive what I have to say, or they are too bad a person.” The enemy is the wolf that attacks the flock, scatters and kills it through jealousy or entitlement.

...If we listen and follow the doubts the enemy attacks us with, the pastures…the privilege of the harvest we have been called to could be destroyed. While we each are accountable for our actions and decisions, I fear the day I am chose inaction, when I should have spoken a word and I didn’t. What excuse could I give that is greater than obedience? This is destruction at its core.

This is the promise after the warning:
“I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL.”
The only way we are going to have life and have it to the full is to get out of the sheep pen EXPERIENCE
the energy and food of the pasture, EXPERIENCE the harvest.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore GO… Therefore GO… Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” MATTHEW 28

REFLECTION:
Our walk with God is a process, none of us ever "arrive" at a point where we can go it alone, we need each other. Where are you in this process and where do you want to be? How can we journey together out of the sheep pen and into the harvest?
A fellow sojourner who sometimes needs a kick to GO,
Kay

Sent Out - The Twelve

M28 is all about embracing and living out the "Great Commission."  This was Jesus' ultimate command sending his followers out.  But it wasn't the first.  This entry and the next few will look at the different times Jesus sent out his disciples.

Luke and Matthew both go into detail about Jesus sending out disciples for the first time.

As mentioned in the previous blog post Jesus had more than the twelve disciples.  Yet the twelve had a closer relationship to Jesus.  It was to these 12 that he shared the meanings behind the parables.  It was with these 12 that he shared life with for about three years.  They heard his teachings and saw the miraculous healing he did everywhere he went.

They were the best candidates to be imitators of him.

They saw what he did.  How he lived and acted.   More so than anyone.  So it was this same group of 12 men that he sent out the first time.

He gave them some very vague and very specific instructions.  But before the instructions he gave them something else.  He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and heal every disease and sickness.  Matthew 10:1

After that he gave them the instructions.  Go to the lost of Israel, not the Gentiles.  The lost of Israel could be anyone.  The friends and neighbors of the disciples.  Their family.  Their former co-workers.  Fishermen, tax collectors, the zealots and others.  Or even strangers and those unknown to the twelve.

Next he told them to proclaim this message as they went, "The kingdom of heaven has come near."  This made the disciples heralds or messengers.  I like the definition of herald over at dictionary.com.

"a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger"

Forerunner.  Harbinger.  Intense sounding words.  But that is exactly what these guys were.  They went ahead of Jesus proclaiming the kingdom heaven was near.  This message they proclaimed to their fellow countrymen.  

The next thing Jesus tells them to do, is to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy and drive out demons.

Raise the dead?

I can just see Peter now.  He elbows Andrew, "Bro, this is awesome!  We get to go proclaim the kingdom is near, heal the sick, raise the dead, clean the lepers...whoa hold up.  Did he just say, 'raise the dead?'"

I mean can you imagine that?!  Try to imagine yourself in that position.  It's your turn to go out.  Jesus is sending you.  All you've really done up to this point is listen and watch.  Your first assignment is to go heal people, cast out demons, and raise the dead.  That is steep learning curve.

And that is where faith comes into it.  Jesus gave them the authority to heal the sick, and drive out demons.  The Bible doesn't specifically mention raising the dead in the authorities Jesus gave them.  But Jesus told them to do it.

If Jesus thinks I can do it...

Jesus goes on with a few more instructions.  They were not to take any money.  They weren't to pack any extra clothes or equipment.  They were pretty much told to go as they were.  Jesus wraps that instruction up with, "for workers are worth their keep."  In my translation that means, "if you do well, people will feed and clothe you as needed."

He also instructs them how to interact with the towns and villages.  Look for a "worthy person" and stay with that person until you leave.  When you enter the house, give it a greeting.  If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it.  If it is not, let your peace return to you.

If you are not welcomed, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that home or town.

And that is essentially it for Jesus' instructions.

1.  Go

2.  Proclaim the kingdom of heaven is near

3.  Heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead

4.  Don't take anything with you

5.  Rules for conduct in towns/homes

Then Jesus launches into a challenge for them.  He says, "I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves."  (Matthew 10:16)  He then proceeds to tell them that they will face all sorts of dangers.  They will be hated, persecuted.  There will be turmoil in families because of Jesus and the message the disciples bring.  Jesus tells them this and lets them know that they aren't greater than their teacher.  He is alluding to what is to come for him.  That, he too, will face persecution and punishment.

He then told them to not fear what may come.  That it is better to fear God rather than people, who can only kill the body.  He finishes instructing them, and he leaves.  He goes to Galilee to teach and preach.  He kept working.

I know there are all sorts of scholars and teachers who can dive deeper into the heart of all this instruction and how it would have looked through the lens of that Eastern culture.  I can't go into what the meanings of having your peace rest on a house are.

The best thing I can take away from this for us today is faith.

Faith in Jesus.

Without that, we might as well stay home.  If we don't believe in the one who sent us, we aren't doing any good.  Let's step back just a little and look at what happened right before Jesus sent out the 12. 

Matthew 9:35-38 

Jesus is going through town after town, teaching, proclaiming the good news, and healing every disease.  He sees the crowds and has compassion on them.  They were like sheep with out a shepherd.  He then says to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." 

We see this similar expression stated in Luke 10:2.  The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  So what needs to be done about that...workers need to be found and sent.  The harvest field is Earth, and it belongs to God because he is the Lord of the harvest. 

We are the workers.  The harvest is right there.  It's plentiful.

We just need to go. 

With faith in the one who sent us.  Jesus. 

What can you do?  Today? 

Well, the first thing you can do is believe Jesus.  Next, pray for the workers.  Then pray that you would see the harvest field around you, and begin to work in it.  If you don't know how to do that, pray some more, read the Bible.  Study Jesus and how he dealt with people.  Live and love like he did. 

Soon the M28 website will be up and running and there will be all sorts of resources available to help you live out the Great Commission.  In the mean time feel free to contact me Jersey via email and I can connect you to people or info that can help. 

Next week:  Sent Out - The Seventy Two  (Reading:  Luke 9:51-10:24)

know the Hope
-Jersey